Abstract
Ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is increasingly consumed as a food or in food supplements. It is also recognized as a popular nonpharmacological treatment for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP). However, its consumption is not recommended by all countries for pregnant women. Study results are heterogeneous and conclusions are not persuasive enough to permit heath care professionals to recommend ginger safely. Some drugs are also contraindicated, leaving pregnant women with NVP with few solutions. We conducted a review to assess effectiveness and safety of ginger consumption during early pregnancy. Systematic literature searches were conducted on Medline (via Pubmed) until the end of December 2017. For the evaluation of efficacy, only double-blind, randomized, controlled trials were included. For the evaluation of the safety, controlled, uncontrolled, and pre-clinical studies were included in the review. Concerning toxicity, none can be extrapolated to humans from in vitro results. In vivo studies do not identify any major toxicities. Concerning efficacy and safety, a total of 15 studies and 3 prospective clinical studies have been studied. For 1 g of fresh ginger root per day for four days, results show a significant decrease in nausea and vomiting and no risk for the mother or her future baby. The available evidence suggests that ginger is a safe and effective treatment for NVP. However, beyond the ginger quantity needed to be effective, ginger quality is important from the perspective of safety.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization, the growth and expansion of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) products is worldwide phenomenon
This review focuses on the efficacy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) of ginger and the safety of its use in pregnant women
Another study made by Yu [48] in 2011 with 12 volunteers receiving 2 g of ginger extract per os for 24 days showed that no 6, 8, and 10-gingerols, and 6-shogaol under free form were detected in the plasma of all the participants 24 h after the last dosing
Summary
According to the World Health Organization, the growth and expansion of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) products is worldwide phenomenon. Positive and/or negative lists of botanicals are published by authorities in different European countries [4,5,6,7] to control and guarantee the quality and traceability of used botanical ingredients in food supplements These regulatory approaches aim to protect consumer health by ensuring that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are safe and of high quality. Cellulose, standardized ginger extract (10% of gingerols) 50 mg eq to 500 mg of ginger powder; calcium phosphate; silicon dioxide; magnesium stearate; HMPC; titanium dioxide, talc, glycerol. Microcrystalline cellulose, standardized ginger extract 50 mg, eq to 500 mg of rhizome powder, silicon dioxide, fatty acid magnesium salts, hypromellose, titanium dioxide, talc, glycerol. Ginger rhizome consumption by pregnant women is tolerated or authorized in several countries (France, Belgium) or forbidden in others (Finland, Russia). The main goal is to have an objective treatment of safety, so non-clinical and clinical data were analyzed to present and discuss factual information to healthcare professionals
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